The origins of the flea flicker are truly unique. It calls for the quarterback to line up as a wide receiver and for the running back or wideout to take the snap from center. Ever popular in college football and sometimes trendy in the NFL is the Wildcat formation. The gunner runs in a straight line down the field as fast as he can as if shot out of a gun. The origin of this term is not too hard to figure out. The gunner is the special teams player that blazes down the field on a kickoff in an attempt to tackle the return man. A gunner is one of the most versatile weapons on a football team, and yet, also one of the most overlooked. The fullback was farthest from the line of scrimmage, the quarterback was the closest and the halfbacks were in the middle. The halfbacks were named as such because of their location in the backfield. The origin of this moniker dates back to the 1940’s when there were usually four men in a backfield and each was a threat to run or throw the ball. The dime adds a sixth defensive back to the equation. As you may have guessed, it contains five defensive backs. The nickel defense was created by Philadelphia Eagles defensive coach Jerry Williams in 1960 as a way to stop Chicago Bears tight end Mike Ditka. The nickel and dime formations were both unsurprisingly coined with money in mind. Scrum is short for scrummage which sounds an awful lot like scrimmage. Why not just call it the line of play or the line of action? Scrimmage, like many football terms, comes from rugby and what is affectionately known as the “scrum”. Once the offense reaches the “red zone,” they are in prime scoring position. The 20 yard line to the end zone is the mythical area known as the “red zone.” So why not the purple or green zone you ask? Because red is seen as a warning color for the defense. So to honor this American institution on such an important anniversary, this week’s blog honors the language of football with the stories behind some of the strangest football terms. On February 7, 2016, over 114 million viewers are expected to gather around television sets to watch Super Bowl 50.

Coined phrase hail mary football